Head-banging stuff! This piece is the polar opposite of what comes to most people's minds when they think of Italian music - it's big, dark, loud, and Mahlerian. Derivative, maybe, but powerful and highly enjoyable nonetheless. The second movement was actually my favorite of the four - a whirling, stomping scherzo that is suffused with supercharged Russian energy. Casella would later go on to develop a more personal style, as exemplified by his wonderful Third Symphony.

« Last Edit: November 22, 2017, 10:29:36 PM by kyjo »

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"Music is enough for a lifetime, but a lifetime is not enough for music" - Sergei Rachmaninoff

Head-banging stuff! This piece is the polar opposite of what comes to most people's minds when they think of Italian music - it's big, dark, loud, and Mahlerian. Derivative, maybe, but powerful and highly enjoyable nonetheless. The second movement was actually my favorite of the four - a whirling, stomping scherzo that is suffused with supercharged Russian energy.

A pretty nice symphony, but not a favorite of mine from Casella. The Sinfonia (Symphony No. 3), his last symphony, is my favorite with an absolute heart-rendering slow movement, Andante molto moderato quasi adagio. This particular movement, for me, is one of the best things he has composed. The Alun Francis recording is the one to own. Noseda totally misses the point in this slow movement and rushes through some key moments that should have been treated more delicately.

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“I regard it as my moral duty to write about the war, about the horrors that befell mankind in our century.” - Mieczysław Weinberg

Last two CDs of this set.Florestan's high regard for this set is justified.

I'm glad you enjoy it.

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Although it's probably better to dip into the set a bit at a time, not wholesale like I am doing now.

It took me one year to get to volume 13.

On a more general note, as of late I noticed that even listening to a single cd with multiple works in one go is too much. Say, the three Brahms violin sonatas: hearing them all in a row makes a mess of them as one can't properly focus but on the currently playing one; as long as one finishes and other begins, the former is forgotten instantly. And the worst is mixing up different composers and different styles, resulting in a complete chaos. I resolved to listen to only one work at the time and take a large enough break bewteen listenings as to be able to digest what I've just listened to. Less is more.

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"I compose music because I must give expression to my feelings, just as I talk because I must give utterance to my thoughts.” --- Rachmaninoff

A long time ago I heard one of Annie Gosfield's pieces at a concert and my only conclusion was that it was too loud. Since I'm now older (if not wiser) I am listening to this and liking it so far. (Maybe belongs in the jazz thread though.)

There comes a point in your life when you realize: Who matters, Who never did, Who won't anymore, And who always will. So, don't worry about people from your past, there's a reason why they didn't make it to your future.

Turner

A lot of interesting and well-played items (and apparently a few real blunders too of horrible sound, haven´t gotten to those yet). Includes Castiglioni, if one wants something more modern. Overall, quite exciting.

There comes a point in your life when you realize: Who matters, Who never did, Who won't anymore, And who always will. So, don't worry about people from your past, there's a reason why they didn't make it to your future.

This set has music from 10 movies, all performed superbly by Frank Strobel and the RSO, Berlin. Schnittke is more successful than Shostakovich in creating genuinely original, intriguing, captivating numbers. Although I love Dsch’s film music, and own half a dozen discs of it, I find Schnittke’ genius more at home in the particular language of film music.

This is interesting to know (and I saw Mirror Image's comments as well). I don't know any Schnittke but he's on the (always quite long) "to do" list. So I'll try to remember to include film music in what I explore.

It started with Mendelssohn opuses. Op.21 is the Overture for A Midsummer Night's Dream, which was very enjoyable (I think I've heard it before). Then there was op.22, the Capriccio Brilliant for piano and orchestra.

Then I went on to op.23, which is 3 sacred choral works, but decided to dovetail with 2 of my other listening exercises which were also up to choral works.

So shortly I will hear Prokofiev's Toast to Stalin (Zdravitsa, op.85, which I'm sure will be a bit of a contrast to the "war sonatas" for piano.

Then it'll be the last Rachmaninov opus that I've never heard before, the 3 Russian Songs for choir, op.41.

pjme

l'An mil was composed in 1897. It is a big work (ca 35 mins.), a symphonic poem with large chorus and (a brief) baritone solo in part 2.

Very detailed program:

Miserere mei - the people's fear for the year 1000. Will Satan appear?Fête des fous et de l'âne - a parody / blasphemy of a religious service. "...those who took the threats of the Apocalyps as purely symbolic, celebrated the Feast of fools and the ass..."Te Deum laudamus...:the reassured crowds kneel in prayer. The Te Deum bursts forth in the surprise of the unhoped -for dawn.

Very nice - the first and last movements are very lyrical, Franckiste, aiming for the grandiose. The second movement is mostly fast, almost good humoured - made me even think of Honegger's Jeanne d'Arc ( the proces scene). This could appeal, I guess, to those who love Franck, ofcourse, Gounod, Massenet,or even Debussy's Sébastien . Elgar?

Michel Dalberto's Benediction. Almost as long as Barrio's, Dalberto starts off very slowly, with each of the first few notes given their space. He lets the music unfold very deliberately, and he keeps the low end dynamics nicely varied. He extracts a lovely sound when playing quietly, and when paired with liberal sustain pedal use, the rolled chords sound blurred. Like Korstick, when he plays more loudly, the playing gets harder, with copious steel display in the climax. The Andante does not come off as well, given a lack of flow and relative lack of beauty. The Piu sostenuto, emerging expertly from the last note of the Andante, flows nicely, though the rolled chords here sometimes have a metallic tinge, and Dalberto's steely tone emerges early in the build up to the climax, which takes on a very Liebestod-y vibe. The right hand runs afterward are splendidly done, and then he backs way off for the remaining music, returning in mood and feel to the opening, with a very spacious presentation, and a solemn coda. As is so often the case with Dalberto's recordings, his renditions are not the best interpretations, but his playing is powerful and imposing and simply cannot be ignored.

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The universe is change; life is opinion. - Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

I had my fill of the interpretations of Kay Johansson and Andrea Macon in the complete organ works by Bach on the Hanssler edition.After been halfway through the fourth disc I decided that enough is enough.

Interesting because my reaction to Marcon's Bach is quite similar to yours. Johanssen however I find more rewarding, even if his style is somewhat restrained. Try the triosonatas and the CD: Der junge Bach played on the Schnitger organ in Cappel.